Clarinet
The clarinet is an instrument of the woodwinds family. It is made of wood. It does NOT have a reed.
Construction
The clarinet, unlike the saxophone, does NOT have an “octave key” but instead has a “register key” which pushes the note a 12th(!) above. (E.g. C3 —> G4)
Transposition
Clarinets are transposing instruments and come in different keys:
- Bb is the most common
- A
Range
Timbre
From “Principles of Orchestration”:
(The underline bracket is the “scope of greatest expression”.)
From my own listening
- Low register:
- very “warm”;
- similar to bassoon;
- not as utilized in swing?
- Upper register:
- the squeakiness is common in swing and big band;
- Mid register:
- Gentle;
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